Share via

When Islington Council asked Kevin McLoughlin to set up a pre-apprenticeship
boot camp last year to tackle youth unemployment in North London, the
painter and decorator refused. He didn’t think there would be enough demand.
He was wrong.

The council didn’t give up and eventually the founder of K&M
McLoughlin Decorating came around to the idea. Since its inception in
November, 116 18 to 24-year-olds have walked through the door; of those, 65
have managed to stay the five-week course and have been classed “employable”.

Those that failed often couldn’t get out of bed in the morning or, when they

Subscribe now

Login

Already a subscriber?

To see the full article you need to subscribe

Subscribe

Login

University and school-leavers do not always have the right skills for employers

As thousands of teenagers across the UK received their A-level results last week, a business lobby group raised serious concerns over the lack of jobs skills that school-leavers possess.
In particular, the British Chambers of Commerce called for a rebalancing of young people’s education to include greater emphasis on preparation for work.
John Longworth, its director-general, believes that, without experience, young people are a risk for employers and said that the BCC’S members often said that they could not find school or university leavers with the right skills, experience or work ethic.
Some of the companies that offer high-quality apprenticeships also struggle to attract the best candidates, since those with good A-levels are encouraged to go to university rather than undertake an apprenticeship, according to the BCC. "Businesses I speak to up and down the country want to work with young people and are happy to train and employ them," Mr Longworth said.
"Yet they are often disheartened if not downright frustrated to find school leavers and graduates do not have the minimum skills they need to join the workforce — poor literacy and numeracy, and behaviour and attitudes that don’t meet business expectations."